European Leagues / Ben Lyttleton / 25 May 2009 / Leave a comment

The title race in Germany concluded in dramatic style while the battle to finish top in France will go to the final day after a nail-biting weekend in Ligue 1. Meanwhile, the relegation issues in Spain and Italy are set to go to the wire. Ben Lyttleton reports...

The biggest winners of the weekend were Wolfsburg, who only needed a draw against Werder Bremen but ran out 5-1 winners to pull off a surprise debut Bundesliga success. Trading as high as ([13.0]) back in March, the Wolves overcame the shock announcement that coach Felix Magath will be leaving for Schalke in the summer and, thanks to the goalscoring brilliance of Grafite and Edin Dzeko, with 54 goals between them (78 if you include Cup and international matches), ended on a high. Armin Veh has been confirmed as the Wolves' new coach.

Bayern Munich secured second place and a Champions League spot for new coach Louis van Gaal by beating third-placed Stuttgart 2-1, although the late consolation goal by Mario Gomez could have interesting implications as Bayern are leading the race to sign Gomez in the summer. Hertha's hopes of a Champions League place were shattered by a 4-0 defeat at Karslruhe, who still ended up going down because of Energie Cottbus' 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen. Hamburg sealed the final Europa League place by coming from behind to beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2.

Bordeaux could have clinched the French title for the first time in 10 years but had to make do with winning their 10th game in a row, equalling their own Ligue 1 record set in 1953, to leave them one point from clinching the league with one game left. Their party-poopers were Marseille, who beat Nancy 2-1 to remain three points behind with one game left. Lyon secured third place with a 3-1 win over Caen, with captain Juninho scoring his 100th goal on his final appearance for the club. Nantes are as good as down after losing 2-1 to Sochaux, while Saint-Etienne, [1.51], Caen, [1.08], and Le Mans, [1.21], are battling it out to avoid the final relegation spot.

In Italy, Paolo Maldini's final home game for AC Milan ended in disappointment as Francesco Totti's free-kick secured a 3-2 win for Roma.

Milan needed to win to secure second place, but after Juventus beat Siena 3-0, both teams are level on points going into the final day. Milan go to Fiorentina, who secured the fourth and final Champions League spot after drawing 1-1 at relegated Lecce. Serie A champions Inter lost 2-1 to Cagliari but Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored to join Bologna's Marco di Vaio at the top of the scoring charts: with one game left, both Zlatan and Di Vaio are [1.62] to finish on top.

In Spain, Barcelona rested nine players before the Champions League final and it showed as they lost 1-0 to Osasuna, who may yet join Numancia and Recreativo in going down. Sevilla have secured third spot after beating Deportivo 1-0 but the result of the weekend was Atletico Madrid's 4-1 win at Athletic Bilbao, thanks to Diego Forlan's hat-trick. The Uruguayan, with 31 goals, has now overtaken Samuel Eto'o's 29-goal tally in the Pichichi charts and is [1.03] to stay there. Villarreal, 3-1 winners over Valencia, are two points behind Atletico in fifth.

Elsewhere, Standard Liege won the Belgian title after beating Anderlecht 1-0, 2-1 on aggregate, in their play-off final second leg, while Maccabi Haifa clinched the Israeli Premier League title for the frst time in three years after beating Maccabi Netanya 2-0.

In Argentine, Boca Juniors lost 2-0 to Velez Sarsfield days after their shock Copa Libertadores elimination at the hands of Uruguayan side Defensor Sporting. Veez remain second, one point Lanus, 1-0 winners over Banfield, with three games left. In Brazil, Santos beat nine-man Fluminense 4-1 while champions Sao Paulo could only draw 0-0 with Palmeiras.